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The Culprit Fay 



BY 



JOSEPH RODMAN DRAKE 



EDITED BY 



HUBERT M. SKINNER, Ph.D. 



ORVILLE BREWER PUBLISHING CO., 
THE AUDITORIUM, CHICAGO 



LIBRARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

DEC 8 1905 

Cooyrieht Entry 

CLASS Cc XXc. No 

COPY B. 



COPYRIGHT, 1905, 
By ORVILI.E BREWER. 



f^ 



t% 



•\<i 



/ 



THE CULPRIT FAY 



PREFACE 



Drake's marvelously delicate and beautiful poem 
''The Culprit Fay" is valuable not only for historical 
reasons, as a landmark in American literature, but also 
for its own sake, as a composition which possesses a 
charm alike for young and old and which is to-day as 
fresh in its interect as on the day when it was first 
published. 

Historically "The Culprit Fay" appears as the first 
narrative poem of any importance in American letters. 
With Scott's narrative poems and ^Moore's "Lallah 
Rookh," it marks the transition from the fixed penta- 
meters of the old "heroic verse" to the lighter, shorter 
lines of the more modern poetry. 

It completely refuted the contention, so earnestly put 
forth, that American scenery could not inspire poetic 
thought, as does the natural scenery of the Old World. 
It lent a charm to the scenes of the Hudson, akin to 
that which is possessed by the storied and ruin-crowned 
banks of the rivers of Europe. 

It demonstrated that a fairy tale may possess a hu- 
man interest, leading the reader on by its narrative 
power to the very end. It was indeed, a fairy tale for 
grown people, though it possessed the genuine fairy 
charm for youthful readers. 

It introduced a new element into fairyland. Insects, 
acorn cups, snail shells— all the delicate and tiny 
objects of forest growth which tell of life in its simpler 
forms— are drawn upon to lend reality to the descrip- 

3 



4 . THE CULPRIT FAY. 

tioiis. If Drake transplanted to the New World the 
fairy lore of the Old, he oave it a new scope and mean- 

This poem, rt^ad in connection with Moore's "Para- 
dise and the I'eri."" olTers a fine study in comparison. 
The two poems, belonging to the same period, and both 
dealing with non-human characters and ideal powers, 
have many resemblances, Avhile in marked contrast in 
other respects. 

Finally, it may be said that "The Culprit Fay" pos- 
sesses a. strong personal interest because of its author, 
the brilliant young American Whose life of promise 
closed so soon — the friend of Fitz-Green Halleck and of 
James Fennhnore Cooper, the darling and pride of a 
social circle that mourned him with a sorrow in which 
all America joined. In his short life of twenty-five 
years, Drake had accomplished a lifework which is 
treasured still with a personal interest. He had head- 
ed the list of poets in the Western World. He had pro- 
duced poems in which every American feels a patriotic 
pride. He had achieved a masterpiece in letters— the 
masterpiece of fairy lore in descriptive poetry. 



INTRODUCTION 

In former times the stories of Fairy-land were 
deemed a form of literature suited only for the enter- 
tainment of little ones. On the theory of modern peda- 
gogists that the individual lives through the successive 
periods of his race, in passing through his own infancy, 
childhood, youth, and manhood, the stories which had 
their origin in the childhood of the race would be most 
suited to the minds of children. And the fact confirms 
the theory ; for little ones always love the narratives 
which contain a flavor of magic and unreality; they 
delight in fairies, genii, dragons, griffins, centaurs, mer- 
maids, flying horses, and magical carpets, Which were 
realities to the men and women of thousands of years 
ago. 

In our own time, fairy lore engages the attention of 
learned critics and investigators. Andrew Lang and 
William J. Rolfe have edited "fairy books" which are 
read with interest by adults as well as by juveniles. 

AH fairy lore is a reflection of the lives of the people 
among whom it originated. Its magic and unreality are 
but expressions of the powers of nature which were 
not understood in the days when science did not exist. 

Our remote ancestors believed in fairies and elves. 
Did any one ever see these elusive creatures? No. 
Then why did people believe in them? Eye witness is 
not all. Ear witness gave strong testimony for them. 
People heard the fairies and elves— or believed they 
heard them. When the watchman upon the castle 
tower blew his horn, was there not a mocking reply 
from the grassy hills ? The laws of sound were not un- 
derstood. The echo was a mystery, which only the im- 
agination could solve. Some beings, it seemed clear, 

5 



6 THE CULPRIT FAY. 

mocked the Avatchman 's horn. They must be hidmg in 
the short grass, for otherwise they would be visible. 
Therefore they must be tiny creatures. Hidden by day, 
they must have their recreations and revels by night— 
by moonlight. It seemed logical enough. 

A noted critic has held that the chief merit of Ten- 
nyson's ''Bugle Song" is its representation of the 
ancient belief in elves, in this very connection: 

"Ohark! Ohear! How thin and clear. 

And thinner, clearer, farther-going, 

sweet and far, o 'er cliff and scar. 

The horns of Elfland faintly blowing! 

Blow, let us hear the purple glens replying, 

Ahd answer, Echoes, answer, dying— dying— dying. 

The master poem of fairy lore in narration is an 
American classic of unusual interest, both historically 
and critically considered. The legend which is told of 
its origin brings to mind three American writers of the 
famous "New York group" of nearly a century ago. 
These were James Fennimore Cooper, the novelist ; 
Fitz-Green Halleck, the lyric writer; and their boyish 
companion, Joseph Rodman Drake, a young physician 
who had studied and traveled, and who had written 
some stirring odes. 

The three were walking one moonlit night upon the 
banks of the Hudson, it is said, when one of the party 
remarked that American scenery, however beautiful, 
could never inspire poetic feeling as does the scenery of 
storied Scotland or of the Rhine. Young Drake denied 
this, and warmly argued that a poem might be pro- 
duced which should give a sentimental interest to the 
scenes of the Hudson ; that the ancient legends, often 
with little truth at bottom, were not necessary, but 
could be successfully replaced with purely imaginary 
narrative that would lend itself to description. 

As the result of a wager upon this point, young Drake 



THE CULPEIT FAY. 7 

set to work to write a poem which should describe the 
beauties of the Hudson, and invest them with narrative 
interest. The result was the poem ''The Culprit Pay," 
which was finished in the astonishingly short space of 
three days. 

This poem was the delight of all New Yorkers. It 
came into immediate popularity. As time passed on, 
its fame extended far beyond the limited region which 
it essayed to describe and to make famous. It was ac- 
cepted as a permanent classic of our literature. In this 
day of critical study of compositions, its features of 
plan and detail alike will repay a careful study. 

It should be borne in mind that the aim is purely 
artistic. It is not designed to teach a moral lesson, but 
only to present beautiful ideal scenes, and to describe 
them in melodious verse. There is no tragedy in it. 

Entering into the spirit of the new day in poetry, 
Drake chose the same short lines which Scott and Moore 
were employing in Great Britain. The "tasks" of the 
Culprit may be compared to those of the Peri in Moore 's 
beautiful poem. The comparison of the poems will 
show that Drake's idea is purely artistic, while Moore's 
is deeply religious. 

It had been questioned if any fairy story for adults 
could be invested with human interest. No such ques- 
tion need be asked of the children who listen to "Cin- 
derella" or "Aladdin." But what of the older read- 
ers of Drake 's poem ? Would they follow the fortunes 
of the Culprit as they would those of a mortal? Here 
again the work of Drake proved a point ; for the interr 
est felt in the story of the poem was strong to the 
end. 

The greatest merit of the diction of this poem is its 
delicacy of description and its melodious flow of sound. 
Its most important addition to the fairy-lore of the past 
is its introduction of the insect world as the compan- 



8 . THE CULPRIT FAY. 

ions and aides of the fairies supposed to dwell among 
them. 

In studying the poem, comparison should be made 
with Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" and 
Moore 's ' ' Paradise and the Peri. ' ' 

Drake survived but four years after the publication 
of his "Culprit Fay" which he composed in 1816, at 
the age of twenty-one. He was smitten with that 
fell disease, consumption. A trip to New Orleans in 
1824-25 did him no lasting good, and he returned to 
his home in New York City to die, in the latter year. 
He was but twenty-five years of age at the time. Fitz- 
Green Halleck stood at his bedside as he passed away. 
Halleck's beautiful tribute to his friend is widely 
known. It begins thus : 

Green be the turf above thee, 
Friend of my better days ! 
None knew thee but to love thee. 
None named thee but to praise. 



THE CULPRIT FAY. 

I. 

'Tis the middle watch of a summer's night; 

The earth is dark, but the heavens are bright; 

Naught is seen in the vault on high 

But the moon and the stars and the cloudless sky, 

And the flood which rolls its milky hue, 5 

A river of light on the welkin blue. 

The moon looksi down on old Cronest ; 

She mellows the shades on his shaggy breast, 

And seems his huge gray form to throw 

In a silver cone on the wave below. 10 

His sides are broken by spots of shade. 

By the walnut bough and the cedar made, 

And through their clustering branches dark 

Glimmers and dies the fire-fly's spark. 

Like starry twinkles that momently break ■ 15 

Through the rifts of the gathering tempest's rack. 

II. 

The stars are on the moving stream, 

And fling, as its ripples gently flow, 
A burnished length of wavy beam 

In an eel-like, spiral line below; 20 

The winds are whist, and the owl is still ; 

The bat in the shelvy rock is hid, 
And nought is heard on the lonely hill 
But the cricket's chirp and the answer shrill 

Of the gauze-winged katydid, 25 

And the plaint of the wailing whippoorwill. 

Who moans unseen, and ceaseless sings 

9 



10 THE CULPKIT FAY. 

Ever a note of wail and woe, 

Till morning spreads her rosy wings, 
And earth and sky in her glances glow. 30 

III. 

'Tis the hour of Fairy ban and spell. 

The woodtick has kept the minutes well ; 

He has counted them all with click and stroke, 

Deep in the heart of the mountain oak. 

And he has aw^akened the sentry Elve 35 

Who sleeps with him in the haunted tree, 
To bid him ring the hour of twelve, 

And call the Fays to their revelry ; 
Twelve small strokes on his tinkling bell 
('Twas made of the white snail's pearly shell) 40 

"Midnight comes, and all is well! 

Hither, hither, wing your way. 

'Tis the dawn of the Fairy day." 

IV. 

They come from beds of lichen green ; 

They creep from the mullen's velvet screen; 45 

Some on the backs of beetles fly 
From the silver tops of moon-touched trees, 

Where they swung in their cobweb hammocks high. 
And rocked about in the evening breeze; 

Some from the humbird's downy nest — 50 

They had driven him out by Elfin power, 

And pillowed on plumes of his rainbow breast, 
Had slumbered there till the charmed hour ; 

Some had lain in the scoop of the rock. 
With glittering ising stars inlaid ; 55 

And some had opened the four-o'clock. 



THE CULPEIT FAY. 11 

And stolen within its purple shade. 

And now they throng the moonlight glade, 
Above — below — on every side, 

Their little minim forms arrayed 60 

In the tricksy pomp of Fairy pride. 



They come not now to print the lea 

In freak and dance around the tree, 

Or at the mushroom board to sup. 

And drink the dew from the buttercnp ; 65 

A scene of sorrow waits them now, 

For an Ouphe has broken his vestal vow; 

He has loved an earthly maid. 

And left for her his woodland shade; 

He has lain upon her lip of dew, TO 

And sunned him in her eye of blue. 

Fanned her cheek with his wing of air, 

Played in the ringlets of her hair, 

And, nestling on her snowy breast. 

Forgot the Lily King's behest. 75 

For this the shadowy tribes of air, 

To the Elfin court must haste away ; 
And now they stand expectant there, 

To hear the doom of Onl]5rit Fay. 

VI. 

The throne was reared upon the grass 80 

Of spice-wood and of sassafras ; 
On pillars of mottled tortoise-shell 

Hung the burnished canopy 
And o'er it gorgeous curtains fell 

Of the tulip's crimson drapery. 85 



12 THE CULPBIT FAY. 

The monarch sat on his judgment seat; 

On his brow the crown imperial shone ; 
The prisoner Fay was at his feet, 

And his Peers were ranged around the throne. 
He waved his sceptre in the air ; 90 

He looked around, and calmly spoke ; 
His brow was grave, and his eye severe. 

But his voice in a softened accent broke : 

VII. 

"Fairy, Fairy, list and mark! 

Thou hast broken thine Elfin chain; 95 

Thy flame-wood lamp is quenched and dark, 

And thy wings are dyed with a deadly stain; 
Thou hast sullied thine Elfin purity 

In the glance of a mortal maiden's eye; 
Thou hast scorned our dread decree, 100 

And thou shouldst pay the forfeit high. 
But well I know her sinless mind 
Is pure as the angel forms above. 
Gentle and meek, and chaste and kind, 
Such as a spirit well might love. 105 

Fairy, had she spot or taint. 
Bitter had been thy punishment. 
Tied to the hornet's shardy wings, 
Tossed on the pricks of nsttles' stings. 
Or seven long ages doomed to dwell 110 

With the lazy worm in the walnut shell, 
Or every night to writhe and bleed 
Beneath the tread of the centipede. 
Or bound in a cobweb dungeon dim — 
Your jailer a spider huge and grim, 115 

Amid the carrion bodies to lie, 
Of the worm and the bug and the murdered fly, — 



THE CULPRIT FAY. 18 

These it had been your lot to bear, 

Had a stain been found on the earthly fair. 

Now list, and mark our mild decree — 120 

Fairy, this your doom must be: 

VIII. i-' 

"Thou shalt seek the beach of sand 

Where the water bounds the Elfin land ; 

Thou shalt watch the oozy brine 

Till the sturgeon leaps in the bright moonshine, 125 

Then dart the glistening arch l)elow, 

And catch a drop from his silver bow. 

The water sprites will wield their arms 

And dash around, with roar and rave. 
And vain are the Woodland Spirits' charms, — 130 

They are the Imps that rule the wave. 
Yet trust thee in thy single might ; 
If thy heart be pure and thy spirit right, 
Thou shalt win the Warlock fight. 

IX. 

"If the spray-bead gem be won, 135 

The stain of thy wing is washed away ; 

But another errand must be done 
Ere thy crime be lost for aye. 

Thy flame-wood lamp is quenched and dark ; 

Thou must re-illume its spark. 140 

Mount thy steed, and spur him high 

To the heaven's blue canopy; 

And when thou seest a shooting star, 

Follow it fast, and follow it far. 

The last faint spark of its burning train ' 145 

Shall light the Elfin lamp again. 

Thou hast heard our sentence, Fay. 

Hence! To the waterside away!" 



14 THE CULPEIT FAY. 

X. 

The Goblin marked his monarch well ; 

He spake not, but he bowed him low, 150 

Then plucked a crimson colen bell. 

And turned him round, in act to go. 
The way is long ; he cannot fly, — 

His soiled wing has lost its power ; 
And he winds adown the mountain high, 155 

For many a sore and weary hour. 
Through dreary beds of tangled fern, 
Through gToves of nightshade dark and dern, 
Over the grass and through the brake. 
Where toils the ant and sleeps the snake. 160 

]^ow o'er the violet's azure flush 
He skips along in lieiitsome mood, 

And now he thrids the bramble bush, 
Till its points are dyed in Fairy blood. 
He has leapt the log, he has pierced the briar, 165 

He has swum the brook and waded the mire, 
Till his spirits sank, and his limbs grew weak, 
And the red waxed fainter in his cheek. 
He had fallen to the ground outright, — 

For rugged and dim was his onward track, — 170 
But there came a spotted toad in sight. 

And he laughed as he jumped upon her back. 
He bridled her mouth with a silkweed twist; 

He lashed her sides with an osier thong ; 
And now, through evening's de^vy mist, 175 

With leap and spring they bound along. 
Till the mountain's magic verge is past. 
And the beach of sand is reached at last. 



THE CUU'EIT FAY. 15 

XI. 

Soft and pale is the moony beam ; 

Moveless, still, the glassy stream, 180 

The wave is clear, the beach is bright 

With snowy shells and sparkling stones; 
The shore surge comes in ripples light. 

In murmurings faint and distant moans; 
And ever afar in the silence deep 185 

Is heard the splash of the sturgeon's leap, 
And the bend of his graceful bow is seen — 
A glittering arch of silver sheen, 
Spanning the wave of burnished blue. 
And dripping with gems of the river dew. 190 

XII. 

The Elfin cast a glance around 

As he lighted down from his courser toad. 
Then round his breast his wings he wound. 

And close to the river's brink he strode ; 
He sprang on a rock, he breathed a prayer, 195 

Above his heads his arms he threw. 
Then tossed a tiny curve in air. 

And headlong plunged in the waters blue. 

XIII. 

Up sprung the Spirits of the Waves, 

From sea-silk beds in their coral caves. 200 

With snail-plate armor, snatched in haste, 

They speed their way through the liquid waste. 

Some are rapidly borne along 

On the mailed shrimp or the prickly prong ; 

Some on the blood-red leeches glide ; 205 



16 THE CULPEIT FAY. 

Some on the stony starfish ride ; 

Some on the back of the lancing squab, 

Some on the sideling soldier crab ; 

And some on the jellied quarl, that flings 

At once a thousand streamy stings. 210 

They cut the wave with the living oar, 

And hurry on to the moonlight shore, 

To guard their realms, and chase away 

The footsteps of the invading Fay. 

XIV. 

Fearlessly he skims along; . 215 

His hope is high, and his limbs are strong; 
He spreads his arms like the swallow's wing. 
And throws his feet with a frog-like fling. 
His locks of gold on the waters shine ; 

At his breast the tiny foam beads rise; 220 

His back gleams bright above tbe brine, 

And the wake-line foam behind him lies. 
But the Water Sprites are gathering near 

To check his course along the tide; 
Their warriors come in swift career, 225 

And hem him round on every side. 
On his thigh the leech his fixed his hold; 
The quarl's long arms are around him rolled ; 
The jirickly prong has pierced his skin, 
And the squab has thrown his javelin; 230 

The gritty star has rubbed him raw; 
And the crab has struck with his giant claw. 
He howls with rage, and he shrieks with pain ; 
He strikes around, but his blows are vain ; 
Hopeless is the im equal fight. 235 

Fairy, nought is left but flight. 



THE CULPEIT FAY. 17 

XY. 

He turned him round, and fled amain, . 

With hurrj and dash, to the beach again ; 

He twisted him over from side to side, 

And laid his cheek to the cleaving tide. 240 

The strokes of his plunging arms are fleet, 

And with all his might he flings his feet; 

But the Wat€r Sprites are round him still. 

To cross his path and work him ill. 

They bade the wave before him rise ; 245 

Thej flung the sea fire in his eyes, 

And they stunned his ears with the scallop stroke, 

With the porpoise heave, and the drumfish croak. 

Oh, but a weary wight was he, 

When he reached the foot of the dogwood tree ! 250 

Gashed and wounded, and stiff and sore, 

He laid him down on the sandy shore. 

He blessed the force of the charmed line. 

And he banned the Water Goblins' spite ; 
For he saw around, in the sweet moonshine, 255 

Their little, wee faces above the brine. 
Giggling and laughing with all their might 
At the piteous hap of the Fairy Avight. 

XYI. 

Soon he gathered the balsam dew 

From the sorrel leaf and the henbane bud; 260 

Over each wound the balm he drew. 

And with cobweb lint he stanched the blood. 
The mild west wind was soft and low ; 
It cooled the heat of his burning brow, 
And he felt new life in his sinews shoot, 265 



18 THE CULPEIT FAY. 

As he drank the juice of the caLamus root; 
x\.nd now lie treads the fatal shore, 
As fresh and vigorous as before. 

XVII. 

Wrapped in musing stands the sprite ; 

'Tis the middle wane of night; 270 

His task is hard, his way is far, 
But he must do his errand right; 

Ere dawning mounts her beamy car, 
And rolls her chariot wheels of light. 
And vain are the spells of Fairy-land, 275 

He must work with a human hand. 

XVIII. 

He cast a saddened look around. 

But he felt new joy his bosom swell. 
When, glittering on the shadowed ground. 

He saAv a purple mussel shell. 280 

Thither he ran, and he bent him low ; 
He heaved at the stern and he heaved at the bow. 
And he pushed her over the yielding sand. 
Till he came to the verge of the haunted land. 
She was as lovely a pleasure boat 285 

As ever fairy had paddled in. 
For she glowed with purple paint without. 

And shone with silvery pearl within. 
A sculler's notch in the tern he made, 
An oar he shaped of the bootle blade ; 290 

Then he sprung to his seat with a lightsome leap. 
And launched afar on the calm blue deep. 

XIX. 

The Imps of the river yell and rave ; v- 

They had no power above the wave, - *: x; . 



THE CULPEIT FAY. 19 

But they heaved the billow before her prow, 295 

And they dashed the surge against her side, 
And they struck her keel with jerk and blow, 

Till the gunwale bent to the rocking tide. 
She whimpled about in the pale moonbeam, 
Like a feather that floats on a wind-tossed stream ; 000 
And momently athwart her track 
The quarl upreared his island back. 
And the fluttering scallop behind would float. 
And patter the water about the boat ; 
But he bailed her out with his colon bell, 305 

And kept her trimmed with a wary tread, 
While on every side like lightning fell 

The heavy strokes of his bootle blade. 

XX. 

Onward still he held his way, 

Till he came where the column of moonshine lay, 310 

And saw, beneath the surface dim, 

The brown-backed sturgeon slowly swim. 

Around him were the Goblin train. 

But he sculled with all his might and main, 

And followed wherever the sturgeon led, 315 

Till he saw him upward point his head ; 

Then he dropped his paddle blade, 

And held his colon goblet up. 

To catch the drop in its crimson cup. 

XXI. 

With sweeping tail and quivering fin, 320 

Through the wave the sturgeon flew. 
And like the heaven-shot javelin, 

He sprung above the waters blue. 



20 THE CULPEIT FAY. 

Instant, as the star-fall light, 

He plunged him in the deep again, 325 

But left an arch of silver bright, 

The rainbow of the moony main. 
It was a strange and lovely sight 

To see the puny Goblin there ; 
He seemed an Angel form of light, 330 

With azure wing and sunny hair. 
Throned on a cloud of purple fair, 
Circled with blue and edged with white, 
And, sitting at the fall of even, 
Beneath the bow of summer heaven. 335 

XXII. 

A moment and its lustre fell ; 

But ere it met the billow blue. 
He caught within his crimson bell, 

A droplet of its sparkling dew. 
Joy to thee, Fay! Thy task is done; 340 

Thy wings are pure, for the gem is won ! 
Cheerily ply thy dripping oar. 
And haste away to the Elfin shore. 

XXIII. 

He turns, and lo! on either side 

The ripples on his path divide, 345 

And the track o'er which his boat must pass 

Is smooth as a sheet of polished glass. 

Around, their limbs the Sea I^Tymphs lave. 

With snowy arms half swelling out, 
Wliile on the glossed and gleamy wave 350 

Their sea-green ringlets loosely float. 
They swim around, with smile and song; 



THE CULPEIT FAY. 21 

They press the bark with pearly hand, 
And gently urge her course along, 

Toward the beach of speckled sand; 355 

And as he lightly leapt to land. 
They bade adieu, with nod and bow, 
Then gaily kissed each little hand. 
And dropped in the crystal deep below. 

XXIV. 

A moment stayed the Fairy there ; 360 

He kissed the beach, and breathed a prayer. 

Then spread his wings of gilded blue, 

And on to the Elfin court he flew. 

As ever ye saw a bubble rise. 

And shine with a thousand changing dyes, 365 

Till lessening far through ether driven, 

It mingles with the hues of heaven ; 

As at the glimpse of morning pale. 

The lance fly spreads his silken sail. 

And gleams with blendings soft and bright, 370 

Till lost in the shades of fading night ; 

So rose from earth the lovely Fay — 

So vanished, far in heaven away ! 

Tip Fairy, quit thy chick-weed bower. 

The cricket has called the second hour, 375 

Twice again, and the lark will rise 

To kiss the streaking of the skies — 

Up ! Thy charmed armor don, 

Thou'lt need it ere the night be gone. 

XXV. 

He put his acorn helmet on ; 3S0 

It was plumed of the silk of the thistle down. 



22 THE CULPfilT FAY. 

The corselet plate that guarded his breast 

Was once the wild bee's golden vest ; 

His cloak, of a thousand mingled dyes, 

Was formed of the wings of butteriiies ; 385 

His shield was the shell of a lady-bug queen, 

Studs of gold on a ground of green ; 

And the quivering lance which he brandished bright 

Was tlie sting of a wasp he had slain in fight. 

Swift he bestrode his firefly steed; 390 

He bared his blade of the bent grass blue ; 
He drove his spurs of the cockle seed, 

And away like a glance of thought he flew, 
To skim the heavens and follow far 
The fiery trail of the rocket star. 395 

XXVI. 

The moth fly, as he shot in air, 

Crept under the leaf, and hid her there; 

The katydid forgot its lay ; 

The prowling giiat fled fast away ; 

The fell mosquito checked his drone, 400 

And folded his wings till the Fay was gone ; 

And the wily beetle dropped his head. 

And fell on tbe ground as if he were dead. 

They crouched them close in the darksome shade. 

They quaked all o'er with awe and fear, 405 

For they had felt the blue-l>ent blade. 

And writhed at the prick of the Elfin spear. 
Many a time on a summer's night, 
When th« sky was clear and the moon was bright, 
They had been roused from the haunted ground 410 
By the yelp and bay of the Fairy hound ; 
They had heard the tiny bugle horn, 
They had heard the twang of the maize-silk string, 



THE CULPRIT FAY. 23 

When the vine-twig bows were tightly drawn, 
And the nettle shaft through the air was borne, 415 
Feathered with down of the humbird's wing. 
And now they deemed the courier Ouphe 

Some hunter sprite of the Elfin ground, 
And they watched till they saw him mount the roof 

That canopies the world around; 420 

Then glad they left their covert lair, 
And freaked about in the midnight air. 

XXVII. 

Up to the vaulted firmament 

His path of the firefly courser bent. 

And at every gallop on the wind, 425 

He flung a glittering spark behind, 

He flies like a feather in the blast. 

Till the first light cloud in heaven is past ; 

But the shapes of air have begun their work, 
And a drizzily mist is round him cast. 430 

He cannot see through the mantle murk. 
He shivers with cold, but he urgest fast; 

Through storm and darkness, sleet and shade. 
He lashes his steed and spurs amain, 
For shadowy hands have twitched the rein, 435 

And flame-shot tongues around him played, 
And near him many a fiendish eye 
Glared with a fell malignity. 
And yells of rage, and shrieks of fear. 
Came screaming on his startled ear. 440 

XXVIII. 

His wings are wet around his breast; 

Th^ plume hangs dripping from his crest; 

His eyes are blurred with the lightning's glare. 



24 THE CULPRIT FAY. 

And his ears are stunned with the thunder's blare ; 
But he gave a shout, and his blade he drew, 445 

He thrust before and he struck behind. 
Till he pierced their cloudy bodies through. 

And gashed their shadowy limbs of wind. 
Howling, the misty Spectres flew ; 

They rend the air with frightful cries, 450 

For he has gained the welkin blue, 

And the land of clouds beneath him lies. 

' XXIX. 

[Jp to the cope careering swift 

In breathless motion fast. 
Fleet as the swalloAv cuts the drift, 455 

Or the sea roc rides the blast. 
The sapphire sheet of eve is shot ; 

The sj^hered moon is j)assed; 
The earth but seems a tiny blot 

On a sheet of azure cast. 460 

O, it was sweet in the clear moonlight. 

To tread the starry plain of even. 
To meet the thousand eyes of night. 

And feel the cooling breath of heaven ! 
But the Elfin made no stop or stay 465 

Till he came to the bank of the Milky Way ; 
Then he checked his courser's foot. 
And watched for the glimpse of the planet shoot. 

XXX. 

Sudden along the snowy tide 

That swelled to riieet their footsteps' fall, 470 

The Sylphs of heaven were seen to glide, 

Attired in sunset's crimson pall ; 



THE CULPEIT FAY. 25 

Around the Fay they weave the dance ; 

They skim before him on the plain, 
And one has taken his wasp-sting lance, 475 

And one upholds his bridle rein ; 
With warblings wild they lead him on, 

To where, through clouds of amber seen, 
Studded with stars, resplendent shone 

The palace of the Sylphid Queen. 480 

Its spiral columns, gleaming bright, 
Were streamers of the jSTorthern Light ; 
Its curtain's light and lorely flush 
Was of the morning's rosy blush ; 

And the ceiling fair that rose aboon, 485 

The white and feathery fleece of noon. 

XXXI. 

But oh, how fair the shape that lay 

"Beneath a rainbow bending bright; 
She seemed to the entranced Fay 

The loveliest of the forms of light. 490 

Her mantle was the purple rolled 

At twilight in the west afar ; 
'Twas tied with threads of dawning gold, 

And buttoned with a sparkling star. 
Her face was like the lily roon, 495 

That veils the vestal planet's hue ; 
Her eyes, two beam lets from the moon. 

Set floating in the welkin blue. 
Her hair is like the sunny beam, 

And the diamond gems which round it gleam 500 

Are the pure drops of the dewy even 
That ne'er have left their native heaven. 



26 THE CULPEIT FAY. 

XXXII. 

She raised her eyes to the wondering Sprite, 

And they leapt with smiles ; for well I ween 
Never before in the bowers of light 505 

Had the foi-m of an earthly Fay been seen. 
Long she looked in his tiny face; 

Long with his butterfly cloak she played ; 
She smothed his wings of azure lace, 

And handled the tassel of his blade; 510 

And as he told, in accents low. 
The story of his love and woe, 
She felt new pains in her bosom rise. 

And the tear-drop started in her eyes. 
And '^O, sweet Spirit of Earth," she cried, 515 

"Return no more to your woodland height. 
But ever here with me abide 

In the land of everlasting light ! 
Within the fleecy drift we'll lie ; 

We'll hang upon the rainbow's rim ; 620 

And all the jewels of the sky 
Around thy brow shall brightly beam ! 
And thou shalt bathe thee in the stream 

That rolls its whitening foam aboon, 
And ride upon the lightning's gleam, 525 

And dance upon the orbed moon ! 
We'll sit within the Pleiad ring ; 

We'll rest on Orion's starry belt, 
And I will bid my Sylphs to»sing 

The song that makes the dew mist melt ; 530 

Their harps are of the umber shade, 

That hides the blush of waking day. 
And every gleamy string is made 

Of silvery moonshine's lengthened ray. 



THE CULPRIT FAY. 27 

And thou shalt pillow on my breast, 535 

While heavenly breathings float around, 

And with the Sylphs of Ether blest, 
Forget the joys of Fairy ground." 

XXXIII. 

She was lovely and fair to see, 

And the Elfin's heart beat fitfully ; 540 

But lovelier far, and still more fair, 

The earthly form imprinted there; 

]N'ought he saw in the heavens above 

Was half so dear as his mortal love, 

For he thought upon her looks so meek, 545 

And he thought of the light flush on her cheek. 

l^ever again might he bask and lie 

On that sweet cheek and moonlight eye. 

But in his dreams her form to see. 

To clasp her in his reverie, 550 

To think upon his virgin bride. 

Was worth all heaven and earth beside. 

XXXIV. 

"Lady," he cried, "I have sworn, to-night. 

On the word of a Fairy knight. 

To do my sentence task aright. 555 

My honor scarce is free from stain ; 

I may not soil its snows again ; 

Betide me weal, betide me woe. 

Its mandate must be answered now." 

Her bosom heaved with many a sigh, 560 

The tear was in her drooping eye ; 

But she led him to the palace gate, 
And called the Sylphs who hovered there. 

And bade them fly and bring him straight. 



28 THE CULPRIT FAY. 

Of clouds condensed, a sable car. 5^5 

With chami and spell she blessed it there. 

From all the fiends of upper air ; 

Then round him cast the shadowj shroud. 

And tied his steed behind the cloud, 

And pressed his hand as she bade him fly 570 

Far to the verge of the northern sky ; 

For by its wane and wavering light 

There was a star would fall to-night. 

XXXV. 

Borne afar on the wings of the bias:, 

Northward, away, he speeds him fast, 575 

And his courser follows the cloudy Wain 

Till the hoof strokes fall like pattering rain. 

The clouds roll backward as he flies ; 

Each flickering star behind him lies, 

And he has reached the northern plain, 580 

And backed his firefly steed again, 

Ready to follow in its flight 

The streaming of the rocket light. 

XXXVI. 

The star is yet in the vault of heaven, 

But it rocks in the summer gale ; 585 

And now 'tis fitful and uneven. 

And now 'tis deadly pale; 
And now 'tis wrapped in sulphur smoke. 

And quenched is its rayless beam. 
And now with a rattling thunderstroke 590 

It bursts in flash and flame. 
As swift as the glance of the arrowy lance 

That the storm spirit flings from high, 
The star shot flew o'er the welkin blue. 



THE CULPRIT FAY. 29 

As it fell from the sheeted skj. 595 

As swift as the wind in its trail behind, 

The Elfin gallops along ; 
The fiends of the clouds are bellowing loud, 

But the Sylphid charm is strong. 
He gallops unhurt in the shower of fire, 600 

While the cloud fiends fly from the blaze ; 
He watches each flake till its sparks expire, 

And rides in the light of its rays. 
But he drove his steed to the lightning's speed, 

And caught a glimmering spark ; 605 

Then wheeled around to the Fairy ground, 

And sped through the midnight dark. 



Ouphe and Goblin, Imp and Sprite, 

Elf of Eve, and starry Fay, 
Ye that love the moon's soft light, 610 

Hither — hither wend your way ! 
Twine ye in a jocund ring. 

Sing and trip it merrily. 
Hand to hand, and wing to wing, 

Round the witch hazel tree ! 615 

Hail the wanderer again, 

With dance and song, and lute and lyre ; 
Pure his wing and strong his chain, 

And doubly bright his Fairy fire. 
Twine ye in an airy round ; 620 

Brush the dew, and print the lea ; 
Skip and gambol, hop and bound. 

Round the wild witch hazel tree. 

The beetle guards our holy groimd ; 

He flies about the haunted place, 625 



30 THE CULPRIT FAY. 

And if mortal there be found, 

He hums in his ears, and he flaps his face ; 
The leaf harp sounds our roundelay, 

The owlet's eyes our lanterns be ; 
Thus we sing, and dance, and play, 630 

Round the wild witch hazel tree. 

But hark ! From tower on tree-top high, 

The sentry Elf his call has made ; 
A streak is in the Eastern sky ; 

Shapes of moonlight, flt and fade ! 635 

The hill-tops gleam in morning's spring; 
The skylark shakes his dappled wing ; 
The day-glimpse glimmers on the laA\Ti ; 
The cock has crowed, — and the Fays are gone ! 



THE CULPRIT FAY. 31 



NOTES ON THE CULPRIT FAY. 

1. What is a watch (a measure of time)? How long is the 
ivatch of the steamboats which ply upon the river described? 
Beginning at midnight, to what hour of the morning does 
"the middle watch of a summer night" extend? Is it day- 
light at four o'clock a. m.? 

5-6. What is the meaning of welkin? What "flood" rolls 
its milky line on the welkin? How does Drake refer to this 
in his poem, "The American Flag?" What is the meaning of 
baldricF 

7-10. What real river is described in this poem? Where is 
the high conical bluff known as Cronest (formerly Crow- 
nest)? Is it an object of special interest to tourists on the 
river? 

16. The word rack here means a bank of clouds. Is this a 
common meaning of the word? 

31. What is meant by fairy? by ban? by spell? 

43. Note that the night of mortals is the day-time of the 
fairies. 

50. What is a hum bird (humming bird)? 

51. From what noun is the adjective elfin derived. What 
is mean by elf? 

55. Did you ever see rock which sparkled with mica (a 
substance resembling isinglass)? 

62. "To print the lea," — to be figures upon the grassy 
sward. 

108. Shardy — resembling a shard. What is the meaning of 
shard? Do you find it in Kipling's "Recessional?" 

128. What is meant by sprites? 

131. What is meant by imps? 

134. What is meant by warlock? 

151. What is a colen bell? 

158. What is meant by dern? 

187. What is meant by the "graceful bow" of the leaping 
sturgeon? 

204-210. What aquatic beings are here described? 

255. What is meant by hap? by wight? 

289. What is it to scull a boat? What is a Sculler's notch? 
Is sculling as graceful as rowing? 

298. What is the gunwale of a boat? Is the position of 
the boat, as described, a dangerous one? 

299. What is the meaning of whimpled? 



tiie. B 19G& 



.S2 THE CULPRIT FAY. 

306. What is meant by trimmed F 

348. What is meant by the sea nym,phsf How are mer- 
maids described? How does Holmes refer to them in his 
poem, "The Chambered Nautilus?" 

Were the Sea Nymphs friendly to the Fay? 

XXV - XXVI. Note how completely the author blends 
fairy pictures with nature studies — how he lends a charm to 
insect and plant life in many forms by his exquisite imagery. 

XXVII - XXVIII. Note how the author depicts the ter- 
rors inspired by the fiends, without describing these shadowy 
beings. It is their very vagueness that makes them so ter- 
rible; for were they described, they would seem commonplace. 
It is the imagined creatures of darkness that awaken the 
greatest fear in the minds of superstitious men. 

453. What is meant by the cope? 

456. What is meant by the sea roc? What was the roc 
in the story of Sinbad, in the "Arabian Nights?' 

457. What is the color of sapphire? 
470. What is meant by sylph? 

495. Roon means red. Note the combination of lily and 
rose to describe the play of light on the "vestal planet," 
Venus, at sunset. 

500. Does the dew really fall from the sky? Is it a com- 
mon error to believe that the dew falls? 

536. "Heavenly breathings," the music of the ether, rather 
hinted at than described. 

537. What is the ether? 

573. Is there really any premonition of a shooting star in 
the appearance of the sky at night? 

576. Wain is an old word meaning wagon. The constel- 
lation known as the Great Dipper was formerly called 
Charles's Wain. 

XXXI. Do we really see a "shooting star" before it shoots? 

608-631. Note the beauty of this song of the fairy dance. - 

628. What is a roundelay? 

632-3. How long has been the full time of the action of 
the poem? Note how completely the whole fairy scene van- 
ishes with the first streak of day — showing that it is like the 
fabric of a dream, all unreal. 



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